Building the Future of Community-Based Tourism in Northern Vietnam

For more than twenty-five years, ETHOS has believed that tourism can and should create something more meaningful than a memorable journey. Visitors may come to northern Vietnam for the mountains, the rice terraces, the villages and the extraordinary cultural diversity of the region, but the value of travel should not end when a visitor returns home. At its best, tourism can create employment, strengthen confidence, support education and allow local people to play a central role in deciding how their communities are represented.

This belief has guided ETHOS from the beginning. It has influenced the way we design our journeys, the way we work with local families and the way we support the people who guide, host and teach our visitors. It has also shaped our understanding of what community-based tourism should become over time. Responsible tourism cannot remain fixed while the communities around it change. It must continue to respond to new needs, new ambitions and new opportunities.

The ETHOS Apprenticeship Programme has grown from that understanding. It is not separate from our work in community-based tourism, nor is it an additional project placed alongside our tourism activities. It is the next stage of a commitment that has been developing for many years: a thirty-month investment in education, professional development and local leadership for three young women from the mountain communities of northern Vietnam.

Cha and Do, two Hmong youth leaders from the ETHOS team, speak during a staff seminar about food hygiene and food safety. The image shows local women taking active roles in professional learning, community education and team development.

ETHOS Team Director Mai Thanh Hoa speaks with the local guide team during a planning meeting for 2026. The photograph reflects the collaborative, women-led approach through which ETHOS develops training, community initiatives and responsible tourism programmes.

Community-Based Tourism Is About More Than Where Visitors Stay

The phrase community-based tourism has become increasingly familiar across the travel industry. It is often used to describe village accommodation, homestays, cultural activities or locally owned tourism businesses. These may all contribute to a more responsible form of travel, but none of them alone is enough to make tourism genuinely community based.

The more important questions concern power, participation and long-term benefit. Who decides how tourism is developed? Who receives the income it creates? Whose knowledge is presented to visitors, and who controls the way that knowledge is interpreted? Does tourism create stable opportunities for local people, or does it simply bring visitors into a community without allowing that community to shape the experience?

At ETHOS, our approach has always been built around relationships rather than volume. We work alongside Hmong, Red Dao, Giáy, Tày and other ethnic communities to create private travel experiences rooted in local knowledge and genuine personal connection. Our guides are not performers asked to present a simplified version of their culture. They are farmers, parents, storytellers, craftspeople, cultural interpreters and community members whose knowledge has been shaped through lived experience.

This distinction matters. Tourism can easily turn culture into something staged for an audience, particularly when visitors are moved quickly through the same villages or introduced to experiences designed primarily for commercial convenience. Community-based tourism should resist that tendency. It should allow local people to determine what they wish to share, what requires permission and what should remain private. It should recognise that culture is not a product and that local knowledge does not automatically belong to visitors simply because they have paid for an experience.

Over the years, ETHOS has supported more than 120 local families through tourism, created long-term employment for guides and developed educational, health and community initiatives alongside our travel work. The apprenticeship programme grows from the same philosophy. It asks how the benefits of tourism can extend beyond immediate employment and contribute to the education, confidence and professional development of the next generation.

Our wider approach is explored in greater depth on our page about community-based tourism in northern Vietnam, where we explain how local decision-making, fair economic distribution and cultural integrity shape the way ETHOS works.

ETHOS guests cross a shallow mountain stream with their local guide while trekking through the green countryside near Sa Pa. The image reflects the small-group, locally guided and landscape-focused nature of ETHOS journeys.

A traditional Hmong family home stands among vivid green rice terraces in the mountains around Sa Pa. The photograph represents the genuine local homes and agricultural landscapes that form part of ETHOS community-based tourism experiences.

Why We Created the Apprenticeship Programme

Many young women in the mountain communities of northern Vietnam complete school with intelligence, determination and a wide range of practical abilities, yet still find themselves without a clear route into further education or professional employment. The barriers are rarely limited to tuition fees. Distance, accommodation, transport, food and the daily costs of living away from home can make continued study impossible, particularly for families already balancing numerous responsibilities.

Professional networks are also limited. Young people growing up in remote communities may have little access to mentors, training opportunities or examples of people from similar backgrounds entering professional roles. Families are often required to make difficult decisions about which educational opportunities they can afford to support, and even where formal study is available, there may be no practical pathway connecting a qualification to stable employment.

At the same time, the knowledge these young women already possess is often underestimated. They may speak several languages, understand farming and forest environments, recognise plants and seasonal changes, care for younger relatives, prepare traditional textiles or manage complex household responsibilities. They may know how to respond to mountain weather, how to identify useful plants, how to prepare food from limited ingredients or how to move between different cultural and linguistic settings.

These abilities are not evidence that they are beginning without education. They are evidence of learning shaped by family, work, culture and community. The problem is not that such knowledge lacks value. The problem is that it is rarely recognised within formal systems or connected to professional opportunities.

The ETHOS Apprenticeship Programme was created to bridge that gap. Its purpose is not to replace what the apprentices already know, nor to suggest that formal education is inherently more valuable than knowledge inherited through family and community. Instead, it brings these different forms of learning together. Existing strengths are connected with English, professional communication, digital skills, formal tourism education, safety training, leadership and recognised qualifications.

This is an important distinction. The programme is not designed to move the apprentices away from their identities or encourage them to become generic tourism professionals. It is intended to help them understand the value of what they already bring, develop the confidence to use that knowledge in wider professional settings and create futures that remain connected to family, culture and place.

ETHOS Youth Leaders Cha and Do with the first ETHOS apprentices, Ta May, Sinh and Pang. Together they represent the next generation of community leaders in northern Vietnam.

A Thirty-Month Commitment

The apprenticeship will run for thirty months, beginning in September 2026 and continuing until early 2029. It combines formal study with structured ETHOS training, supervised workplace experience, field learning and long-term mentoring.

The length of the programme is deliberate. Confidence cannot be created through a single workshop, and professional competence cannot be measured only through classroom attendance. English develops through repeated use in ordinary situations. Judgement improves when someone has the opportunity to encounter real challenges, reflect upon them and try again. Leadership grows gradually as responsibility increases and experience begins to replace uncertainty.

Short courses can be valuable, but they cannot provide the continuity required for this kind of development. The apprenticeship has therefore been designed around time, repetition and sustained support. The apprentices will attend lessons and receive certificates as well as living, studying and working within an environment where learning becomes part of everyday life.

Throughout the programme, they will share a common educational foundation, but they will not be expected to become identical. Each young woman will develop her own interests, strengths and professional direction. One may become particularly drawn towards guiding and field leadership, while another may discover an interest in cultural interpretation, hospitality, photography, education, digital communication, enterprise or community work.

The purpose of the programme is not to prescribe a single future. It is to create informed choices. By the end of thirty months, each apprentice should have a clearer understanding of what she does well, what kind of work she wishes to pursue and how she can continue developing after the formal programme has ended.

Learning Beyond the Classroom

The ETHOS curriculum includes more than 480 hours of structured education and specialist training. It begins with the foundations of professional behaviour, communication and learning, before moving into tourism, digital skills, visual communication, safety, guiding, entrepreneurship, management and leadership.

English and professional communication will continue throughout the programme. The apprentices will use language not only in formal lessons but in visitor conversations, guiding practice, presentations, written communication, workplace discussions and daily routines. The aim is not simply to pass an examination, but to develop the confidence required to communicate independently and appropriately in different professional situations.

Digital learning will include computer use, file management, responsible artificial intelligence, photography, video, editing and visual communication. These skills are increasingly important within tourism, but they also have wider value. They allow the apprentices to document local knowledge, prepare educational materials, communicate with visitors, contribute to online projects and present their work in professional ways.

Responsible tourism, sustainability and cultural interpretation will form another central part of the programme. The apprentices will learn how to communicate culture without reducing it to performance, how to ask permission, how to recognise that some knowledge belongs to families or community authorities and how to protect information that should not be shared. They will also examine the environmental responsibilities of tourism, including waste, trail impact, water use, wildlife, local resources and the pressures created when too many visitors are concentrated in the same places.

Safety will be treated as a professional responsibility rather than an additional topic. Training will include first aid, risk assessment, mountain weather, navigation, route planning, emergency decision-making and guest care. These lessons will move gradually from controlled exercises into supervised professional practice, allowing confidence to develop alongside competence.

The later stages of the programme will focus more strongly on enterprise, tourism management, project planning and leadership. Each apprentice will eventually complete an integrated final project requiring research, budgeting, consent, safety planning, practical delivery, evaluation and professional presentation. This will allow them to demonstrate not only what they have learnt, but how they can apply it within a complex real-world task.

Learning will therefore take place across many different settings. Some lessons will happen at a desk, while others will happen in villages, on trails, in community workshops, during visitor briefings or through practical projects. The aim is to create an educational environment in which formal knowledge and lived experience continually reinforce one another.

Harvesting hemp for traditional textile production. Knowledge such as this forms part of the cultural strengths the apprentices already bring to the programme.

More Than Qualifications

The programme is designed to prepare each apprentice for four significant educational and professional outcomes: a formal tourism qualification, a B2 English Certificate, an International Tourism Licence subject to the legal requirements in force when each apprentice becomes eligible, and the ETHOS Tourism Management Certificate.

These qualifications matter because they provide recognised evidence of academic knowledge, language ability, legal professional eligibility and workplace competence. They can open doors that might otherwise remain closed and give each apprentice a stronger position when applying for future employment or taking on greater responsibility.

However, qualifications alone are not the final purpose of the programme. The longer-term outcome reaches far beyond three certificates or three new tourism professionals. Pang, Ta May and Sinh are being prepared to become confident community leaders who can contribute to the wider work already undertaken by ETHOS and its local partners.

They may help deliver health and hygiene sessions, support human-trafficking awareness workshops, contribute to environmental projects, mentor younger people or assist with educational activities in their communities. They will learn how to stand in front of a group, explain difficult subjects clearly, listen carefully, manage responsibility and protect the dignity of others.

They will also become visible examples of what young local women can achieve when existing knowledge is recognised and opportunity is matched by sustained support. This matters in communities where educational and professional pathways may still feel distant or uncertain. The presence of a young woman who has completed formal study, developed professional confidence and remained connected to her community can influence expectations far beyond her own career.

In this sense, the apprenticeship programme is not only about preparing three individuals for employment. It is about gradually increasing the number of local women able to guide, interpret, teach, organise and lead within the region’s tourism economy.

Meet the Apprentices

The first intake brings together three young women whose backgrounds and ambitions are different, but whose willingness to learn is shared.

Lý Thị Pằng is a young Black Hmong woman from Pả Chư in Bát Xát. She became the only girl from her village to complete high school after years of boarding away from home and uncertainty about whether her family would be able to continue supporting her education. She also brings extensive practical knowledge of farming, foraging, hemp preparation, indigo, cooking and mountain life. Her story is not simply about overcoming difficulty. It is about connecting knowledge inherited through her family with new education and professional opportunity.

Through the apprenticeship, Pang hopes to improve her English, become more confident, develop digital and tourism skills and discover a career that allows her to support herself while remaining closely connected to her family and community.

Phàn Tả Mẩy is a young Red Dao woman from the Sa Pa area. She grew up learning independence, household skills and elements of forest and medicinal-plant knowledge from her mother and grandmother. Her development has been closely connected to confidence. Work outside the home helped her begin communicating with new people and gradually trust her own abilities.

Ta May hopes to become financially independent, travel more widely and help visitors understand Red Dao culture as living knowledge rather than simply clothing, decoration or performance. The apprenticeship will allow her to strengthen her English, communication, tourism and professional skills while exploring the direction that suits her best.

Sùng Thị Sinh is a young Black Hmong woman from Sử Pán, where her family’s life remains closely connected to farming, forests and the mountain environment. She brings determination, practical experience and a strong sense of responsibility towards her family. She is proud of her Hmong identity and wants visitors to understand the work, knowledge and meaning involved in traditional clothing and mountain life.

Sinh hopes to develop English, videography, photography, guiding and hospitality skills. Her ambition is not simply to leave her community in search of opportunity elsewhere, but to build a stable future while remaining connected to her family, culture and home.

Their stories include financial limitations, distance and restricted access to further education, but those circumstances do not define them. Each apprentice brings knowledge, relationships, humour, responsibility, curiosity and pride into the programme. Their backgrounds are part of who they are, but they will not be required to repeatedly disclose personal hardship in order to justify their place.

ETHOS will ask each apprentice to decide what she wishes to share, what requires permission and what should remain private. Their stories belong to them. The role of the programme is to create conditions in which they can develop, speak with confidence and make informed decisions about their own futures.

More detailed information about Pang, Ta May, Sinh and the full educational structure can be found on the ETHOS Apprenticeship Programme page.

Pang, one of the first three apprentices joining the thirty-month ETHOS Apprenticeship Programme.

Ta May, one of the first three apprentices joining the thirty-month ETHOS Apprenticeship Programme.

Sinh, one of the first three apprentices joining the thirty-month ETHOS Apprenticeship Programme.

What This Means for Community-Based Tourism in Sa Pa

Community-based tourism cannot depend indefinitely on the same small number of experienced guides, hosts and organisers. For it to remain strong, knowledge and responsibility must be transferred to younger people who understand both their own communities and the professional expectations of modern tourism.

This is one of the most important reasons the apprenticeship programme matters. It creates a structured pathway through which young local women can move from informal experience into professional roles without losing the cultural knowledge that gives those roles meaning.

Sa Pa has changed enormously during the years ETHOS has worked in the region. Roads, accommodation, visitor numbers and commercial development have expanded, while tourism has become an increasingly significant part of the local economy. Some of these changes have created opportunity, but they have also produced pressure. Cultural experiences can become standardised, villages can receive more visitors than they can comfortably manage and local people can be pushed into supporting roles while outside businesses retain control over how tourism is marketed and organised.

The long-term strength of community-based tourism therefore depends upon local leadership. It requires people who can communicate across cultures, understand safety and visitor expectations, protect community interests and make informed decisions about how tourism should develop. It also requires greater representation from women, particularly women whose knowledge of family life, agriculture, textiles, language and community relationships has often been undervalued within formal tourism structures.

The apprenticeship programme will not solve every challenge facing tourism in Sa Pa, nor should it be presented as though it will. Its value lies in creating one carefully supported pathway through which local knowledge and professional education can meet. If the model proves successful, it can inform future apprenticeships, create new mentors and gradually expand the number of people able to shape community-based tourism from within the communities themselves.

That is how the programme will advance ETHOS. It will strengthen our internal capacity, bring new perspectives into the organisation and allow younger local women to take on increasingly important roles in guiding, education, interpretation and programme delivery. At the same time, it will help protect the values upon which ETHOS was founded by ensuring that those values are not dependent only upon the current generation.

Looking Ahead

Community-based tourism should never stand still. As communities change, responsible tourism must evolve alongside them, responding not only to the immediate economic opportunities created by visitors but also to the long-term educational and professional needs of local people.

The ETHOS Apprenticeship Programme represents the next stage of that evolution. It is built on the same principles that have guided our work for more than twenty-five years: respect, partnership, cultural integrity, education and long-term commitment. It recognises that tourism can do more than create employment in the present. It can help prepare people to make decisions, lead organisations, represent their communities and create opportunities for others in the future.

Throughout the thirty months, ETHOS will share approved updates showing what the apprentices are learning, producing and achieving. These updates will include lessons, workshops, field visits, assessments, practical projects and professional milestones. We will also discuss difficulties honestly, recognising that meaningful education is rarely simple or perfectly linear and that progress includes uncertainty, mistakes, reassessment and growth.

Over time, the programme will become a record of three individual journeys and one shared educational commitment. It will show how Pang, Ta May and Sinh develop from the first days of the apprenticeship through to formal qualifications, greater professional responsibility and decisions about what comes next.

Their journey is only beginning. We hope it will contribute not only to their own futures, but also to a stronger, more thoughtful and more locally led form of tourism in Sa Pa and across northern Vietnam.

Readers who would like to explore the programme in greater detail can visit the ETHOS Apprenticeship Programme. Information about how the programme is financed is available separately on the Support the Programme page, allowing this article to remain focused on the educational purpose of the apprenticeship and its wider importance for community-based tourism.

ETHOS Youth Leader Cha sharing traditional Hmong textile knowledge with a visitor at the ETHOS Community Centre, Sa Pa.

The Sacred Books of the Red Dao: Ritual Manuscripts, Handmade Paper and Living Knowledge

Written and researched by Phil Hoolihan. Photography: Phil Hoolihan (all rights reserved)

In mountain villages surrounding Sapa town, some Red Dao (Iu Mien) families still preserve small, handwritten books made from coarse, yellow-brown paper. Other Dao subgroups in other regions also follow similar traditions. The pages of these excuisite books are filled with vertical columns of unfamiliar characters, carefully written in black ink. During important ceremonies, a ritual master opens one of these manuscripts and begins to chant.

To an outsider, the book may appear ancient and mysterious, yet it is better understood as part of a living system of knowledge. These manuscripts help Red Dao ritual specialists remember prayers, sacred narratives, ceremonial instructions and the names of spiritual beings. They also connect present-day practitioners with generations of teachers, ancestors and family members who came before them.

The knowledge contained within the books is old, but this does not necessarily mean that every surviving manuscript is itself ancient. A book may have been copied relatively recently from a much older text. For centuries, ritual knowledge was preserved by repeatedly copying manuscripts by hand and passing them from one generation to the next.

Indigo stained hands of a Red Dao (Iu Mien) woman carefully holds an ancient bamboo paper manuscript in Sapa.

What Are Red Dao Ritual Books?

Red Dao ritual manuscripts are often described in Vietnamese as sách cúng, meaning ceremonial or worship books, or more generally as sách cổ, meaning old books. They are not ordinary books intended for everyday reading. Most were created for use during religious ceremonies, ancestral rites, funerals, healing rituals, divination, initiation ceremonies and other important community events.

A single ritual specialist may possess a collection of different manuscripts. Each book, or section of a book, may have a particular purpose. One might contain prayers inviting ancestors to attend a ceremony while another might explain how to guide the spirit of a deceased person. Others may contain purification formulas, accounts of important deities, ceremonial songs or instructions for making offerings. The books are therefore best understood as a combination of scripture, ceremonial guide, historical record and technical manual.

What Is Written Inside the Books?

The manuscripts are usually written using a character system commonly known in Vietnam as chữ Nôm Dao. It is based largely on traditional Chinese characters, but it also includes regional forms, altered characters and symbols used to represent Dao words and concepts. This does not mean that the books can simply be read as ordinary Chinese. A reader who knows modern Mandarin may recognise some characters but still be unable to understand or pronounce the text correctly. Red Dao ritual specialists use a specialised ceremonial language that differs from everyday spoken Dao and from modern standard Chinese.

The correct reading of a manuscript depends upon more than recognising individual characters. The reader must also understand the traditional pronunciation, rhythm, sequence and ritual meaning of the words. The contents may include prayers, invocations, stories of gods and ancestors, moral teachings, genealogies, migration histories, calendars, divination methods, funeral instructions and ceremonial formulas. Some collections also preserve songs, herbal knowledge and accounts of King Pan, who is regarded as an ancestral figure by many Dao communities. The manuscripts are therefore far more than collections of spells. Together, they form a written archive of religious belief, history, ethics and cultural memory.

A Red Dao (Iu Mien) woman in Sa Pa holding a treasured family ritual manuscript passed down through generations.

A Red Dao ritual master reading from a handwritten ceremonial manuscript during a traditional religious ceremony.

A Dao woman in Điện Biên proudly displaying a handwritten ritual manuscript belonging to her husband's ceremonial collection.

Why Are the Books Written in Vertical Columns?

Like many traditional Chinese and Dao manuscripts, the characters are usually arranged in vertical columns. The reader follows each column from top to bottom before moving to the next column. The precise direction in which the columns are followed may depend upon the manuscript and the tradition of the person who copied it. The writing is normally applied with black ink. Some manuscripts are carefully and evenly written, while others contain additions, corrections, notes or sections copied by different hands.

These differences can tell us something about the history of a book. A manuscript may have been used, repaired and expanded over several generations. Names of owners, teachers or students may also have been added to its pages.

Indigo-stained hands of a Red Dao (Iu Mien) woman carefully holding a traditional handwritten ritual manuscript on handmade paper in Sapa.

Close-up of a Red Dao ritual manuscript showing handwritten annotations and additions made by successive owners or teachers.

How Is the Traditional Paper Made?

The paper used for Red Dao ritual books is often known as giấy bản, a general Vietnamese term for handmade traditional paper.

In the Sa Pa region, the paper may be made from young bamboo or related forest plants such as nứa, mai or vầu. For this reason, it is often described in English as bamboo paper. However, different Dao communities use different plant materials, so not every traditional Dao manuscript is made from exactly the same fibre.

Making the paper requires time, skill and access to clean water. Young bamboo or suitable plant stems are selected and cut into smaller pieces. The material is then soaked or boiled, often with lime, to soften the fibres and break down the harder parts of the plant. Once softened, the material is washed and pounded until it becomes a fine pulp. The pulp is mixed with water, sometimes together with a natural binding substance made from forest bark or vines. This helps the fibres remain evenly distributed. The liquid pulp is spread across or lifted onto a fine screen. Water drains away, leaving a thin layer of interwoven fibres. The new sheet is then pressed or dried in the sun before being carefully removed.

The finished paper is usually pale cream, beige or yellow-brown. It may contain visible fibres, small marks and variations in thickness. These irregularities are part of its handmade character. Although the surface appears rough, good-quality traditional paper can be remarkably durable. When protected from dampness, insects, smoke and careless handling, it may survive for many decades.

To understand more of the paper making process, the video below shows a Dao family in Tuyên Quang who skillfully create the hand made paper using skills passed own from generation to generation.

How Is a Ritual Manuscript Created?

Once the paper has been prepared, it is cut, folded or assembled into narrow pages or booklets. A knowledgeable copyist then reproduces the text by hand, usually using an older manuscript as the model. Copying a sacred book requires both literacy and familiarity with the ceremonial tradition. The copyist must understand where one passage ends and another begins, which characters have ritual significance and how the text should be read aloud. Small errors may change a name, instruction or ceremonial formula.

However, the process is not always simple word-for-word duplication. A copyist may combine material from several older books, add local explanations or include oral knowledge taught by a ritual master. For this reason, two manuscripts with similar titles may not be identical. A book may also record the name of the person who copied it, commissioned it or inherited it. Later owners may add their own names and annotations. Over time, the manuscript can become a record of the family or teaching lineage through which the knowledge has travelled.

The Red Dao Ritual Sound Instrument

Among the ceremonial objects owned by many Red Dao ritual masters is a distinctive forged iron implement that is sometimes mistakenly described as a ritual knife. Although its shape resembles a narrow blade, it was never intended to function as a cutting tool. The iron is relatively thin, there is no sharpened edge, guard or handle, and the object cannot be comfortably held like an ordinary knife. Instead, the blade is suspended from a series of hand-forged twisted iron rings, allowing it to swing freely during ceremonies.

These twisted rings are an important part of the instrument’s design. Rather than serving simply as a means of suspension, they create flexibility and movement. When shaken, the rings and blade strike against one another, producing a distinctive metallic ringing or clinking sound. This immediately suggests that the object was designed primarily as a ritual sound instrument rather than as a weapon or cutting implement.

Sound occupies an important place within Red Dao religious practice. Ritual masters use bells, gongs, wooden percussion instruments and other ceremonial objects to announce the beginning of rituals, invite protective deities and ancestral spirits, mark transitions during chanting, purify sacred spaces and drive away harmful spiritual influences. This forged iron implement appears to fulfil a similar role, contributing sound as an active element within the ceremony.

One aspect of Red Dao ritual that is often overlooked is that writing itself is regarded as a sacred act. When a ritual master prepares talismans, petitions to heaven, initiation certificates, funeral texts or spirit registers, he is not simply writing words onto paper. Instead, the act of writing is understood as communication with the spiritual world. During these ceremonies, the ritual master may alternate between chanting, writing, burning incense, making symbolic gestures and shaking ritual sound instruments. The rhythmic metallic sound is believed to help maintain the spiritual purity of the ritual space while sacred texts are being created or recited.

This iron implement is normally only one component of a much larger ceremonial collection owned by an experienced ritual master. A complete ritual kit may include handwritten manuscripts, wooden ritual seals, bells, divination blocks, handwritten talismans, incense implements, ritual paintings and altar furnishings. Each object has a specific ceremonial purpose, and together they support a highly choreographed sequence of movement, sound, chanting and sacred writing that has been transmitted through generations.

Examples such as this are becoming increasingly uncommon. While ritual manuscripts are occasionally encountered, the smaller ceremonial implements that accompany them are far less frequently documented. As older ritual masters retire or pass away, complete ceremonial collections are often dispersed, making surviving sets of manuscripts and ritual instruments an increasingly valuable record of Red Dao religious heritage.

Like the manuscripts themselves, these objects are not decorative artefacts or historical curiosities. They remain practical ceremonial instruments that continue to play an important role in the religious life of many Red Dao communities throughout northern Vietnam.

A traditional Red Dao ritual knife resting on a handwritten ceremonial document. The knife is a sacred ceremonial implement used by ritual masters during initiation, healing, ancestral and protective ceremonies.

Keeping the Tradition Alive

Although the number of experienced ritual masters has declined in some villages, there are encouraging signs that Red Dao cultural knowledge continues to be valued by younger generations. In Tả Phìn Village, just outside Sapa, respected ritual masters and community elders organise classes where children and young adults can learn the traditional Dao script, study ceremonial texts and gain a deeper understanding of their cultural heritage.

These classes are not intended simply to teach reading and writing. They help preserve a unique religious tradition, strengthen community identity and ensure that the knowledge needed to conduct ceremonies, interpret sacred manuscripts and pass on oral traditions is not lost. The initiative demonstrates that many Red Dao families see their written language and ritual practices as a living inheritance rather than a museum piece.

Who Is Allowed to Read the Books?

The principal readers are traditionally male Red Dao ritual specialists, commonly called thầy cúng in Vietnamese. The English word “shaman” is often used, but it does not describe every aspect of their role. A Red Dao ritual master may conduct ancestral ceremonies, funerals, healing rites, divination, household rituals and initiation ceremonies. He may communicate with spiritual beings, but he must also understand ceremonial procedures, sacred texts, calendars, offerings and community customs.

For this reason, terms such as ritual master, ceremonial priest or ritual specialist may provide a fuller description. Not every man who can recognise some characters is authorised to perform important ceremonies. Reading the books is only one part of a much larger system of training.

A Red Dao ritual master reads from a handwritten ceremonial manuscript during a traditional religious ceremony in Sapa, Vietnam.

How Does Someone Become a Ritual Master?

Training often begins under the guidance of an older relative or an established ritual master. A student may first learn individual characters, traditional pronunciation and basic moral or ceremonial texts. He must then study the order of rituals, the meanings of offerings, the use of ceremonial objects and the correct way to address particular gods or ancestors. This process can take many years.

Much of the learning happens through observation and repetition. A student may accompany his teacher to ceremonies, help prepare offerings, listen to recitations and gradually learn to perform particular sections. The ability to read a manuscript does not by itself make someone a recognised ritual master. Authority also depends upon apprenticeship, lineage, ceremonial knowledge and initiation.

A Red Dao ritual master guides an apprentice during a traditional ceremony. Ritual knowledge is transmitted through years of observation, practice and participation.

The Importance of the Cấp Sắc Ceremony

One of the most important religious events in Dao culture is the cấp sắc ceremony. The details vary between different Dao groups and local traditions, but the ceremony generally gives a man a religious name and establishes his formal relationship with spiritual teachers, ancestors and protective forces. It may also give him authority to participate in or conduct particular ceremonies.

The ritual can include sacred paintings, lamps, drums, bells, offerings, handwritten documents and extended periods of chanting. Senior ritual masters guide the initiate through a complex series of actions and teachings. Ritual manuscripts are closely connected with this system of authority. A person may understand parts of a book, but the right to use certain texts in major ceremonies normally depends upon recognised training and initiation.

Read more about Cấp Sắc here.

How Are the Books Used During Ceremonies?

During a ceremony, the ritual master selects the manuscript appropriate to the occasion. He may sit or stand in front of an altar while holding or resting the book before him. He then chants the text using its traditional ceremonial pronunciation. This recitation is not usually performed in the manner of an ordinary conversation. The words may be melodic, rhythmic and repetitive. Some passages may be spoken quietly, while others are chanted more forcefully.

The text may announce the name of the family, explain the purpose of the ceremony, invite ancestors or gods to attend, present a request, guide a soul, describe an offering or order harmful forces to leave. At particular points, assistants may light incense, present food or rice wine, strike a drum, ring a bell, burn ritual paper or rearrange objects on the altar. The manuscript helps preserve the correct sequence of events. It ensures that important names, instructions and formulas are not forgotten.

Which Ceremonies Require the Books?

Different manuscripts are used for different purposes. They may be consulted during funerals, ancestral rites, healing ceremonies, weddings, New Year observances, prayers for health and safety, divination and cấp sắc initiation ceremonies. Funeral manuscripts may contain instructions concerning the journey of the soul and its relationship with the ancestors. Healing texts may identify spiritual causes of illness or contain prayers requesting protection and recovery.

Other books may be used to choose an appropriate date for a ceremony or important family event. Calendrical and divination knowledge can therefore be closely connected with the religious manuscripts. Not every ceremony requires the same level of knowledge. Some household rites may be relatively simple, while major funerals or initiation ceremonies can require several ritual specialists and many different texts.

Are Women Involved in the Manuscript Tradition?

Sacred ritual authority has traditionally been transmitted primarily through male teaching and family lineages. The main ceremonial manuscripts are therefore most commonly read by men. However, this does not mean that women have no role in Red Dao religious and cultural life. Women may perform important ceremonial songs, prepare offerings, preserve oral histories and participate in rituals in ways that are essential to their success. Some women may also possess songbooks or other written materials.

The exact division of roles differs between families, villages, generations and Dao subgroups. It is therefore important not to assume that every Red Dao community follows precisely the same practice.

Are the Books Considered Sacred?

Many ritual manuscripts are treated with considerable respect. Their significance does not come only from their age. A book may be important because it contains sacred knowledge, belonged to an ancestor or teacher, or demonstrates the owner’s connection to a recognised ritual lineage. Some manuscripts may be shown openly to learners, researchers or visitors. Others may contain restricted material that the owner does not wish to display, translate or photograph.

Visitors should therefore always ask permission before touching or photographing a manuscript. Pages should not be turned without the owner’s agreement, and a ritual book should never be treated simply as an attractive souvenir or decorative object. Buying an old manuscript can also be ethically problematic. Removing it from its family or village may separate the book from the lineage and knowledge that give it meaning.

A treasured Red Dao family manuscript showing generations of careful use and preservation. Many ritual books remain within the families and lineages that have safeguarded them for decades.

An open Red Dao ritual manuscript written on traditional handmade paper. Such books preserve centuries of religious knowledge, ceremonial practice and family tradition.

Ancient Knowledge in a Living Tradition

Red Dao ritual books are sometimes presented as relics from a disappearing past. This description can be misleading.

The tradition has undoubtedly faced serious pressures. Younger generations attend Vietnamese-language schools, families move away from villages and fewer people have the time required to master complex ceremonial writing. Handmade paper has also become less common as commercially produced paper has become easier to obtain. Nevertheless, the books remain part of a living tradition.

They may still be copied, studied, inherited and used during ceremonies. Ritual masters continue to interpret their words, while families continue to rely upon them during some of the most important moments of life and death. A manuscript does more than preserve a fixed text. It links a student to a teacher, a family to its ancestors and a present-day ceremony to generations of earlier practice.

Seeing the Books with Respect

For visitors to Sapa, encountering one of these manuscripts can provide a rare insight into the intellectual and spiritual depth of Red Dao culture. The book should not be understood simply as an exotic object filled with mysterious symbols. Each page represents specialised education, careful craftsmanship and knowledge transmitted across generations.

The handmade paper reflects an intimate understanding of local plants and natural materials. The handwritten characters preserve a sophisticated literary and religious tradition. The recitation connects the visible ceremony with an unseen world of ancestors, teachers, deities and protective spirits. Together, these elements make the Red Dao ritual manuscript one of the region's most remarkable forms of living cultural heritage.

While these sacred ceremonies are private and are not performed as tourist attractions, spending time in Red Dao communities with knowledgeable local guides can provide a far deeper appreciation of the culture, history and traditions that surround them. Walking the mountain trails, learning about medicinal plants, sharing meals with local families and hearing these stories from the people who continue to live them offers an understanding that extends far beyond what can be found in a museum or guidebook.

If you would like to explore this remarkable landscape with respect for the people who call it home, our Highland Herbs Trek & Red Dao Homestay offers the opportunity to walk with local Red Dao guides, forage for medicinal plants, share traditional meals and spend the night with a Red Dao family. The experience has been designed to encourage genuine cultural exchange while directly supporting local communities and helping to preserve the living heritage that makes the mountains around Sapa so special.